If journalism is the “first rough draft” of history, then Tim Shipman is the master of the second, tidied up, version of events. In his first book, All Out War, he produced a gripping and bestselling account of the EU referendum campaign. Now his second volume, Fall Out, offers the inside story of the “year of political mayhem” that followed the Brexit vote.

Veering from Westminster tragedy to Whitehall farce, the narrative covers an extraordinary 12 months of drama that includes Theresa May’s triumphant arrival at No 10, her disastrous decision to call the general election and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn. Shipman quotes Mike Tyson, who said: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,” and as much as anything this…